Friday, May 23, 2008

Too Young to Date

Song; Too Young to DateArtist: D-DayAlbum: Too Young to Date

I wanted to first thank you all to those that sent me songs and suggestions for your favorite obscure 80’s tunes. I have been searching them out and will be listening all next week to them. Because there have been so many, and I can’t imagine I’ll be able to pick just one… I think I will be doing another week of YOUR favorite obscure 80’s tracks. So stay tuned!

It wasn’t until I was in college that I first heard this song, but “Too Young to Date” certainly makes an instant impression. More on the punk-rock side of new wave, the tune by Austin TX based band “D-Day” was one of only three songs that I can find that they did. I have never heard anything else and surprisingly there is very little written about the band. One of the things that has been great about this age of the internet (an no doubt bolstered by the ease of file-sharing) is that so many music heads from around the world have been able to share their collections from years past with other fans of a particular genre. While I have my own thoughts about “sharing” music, as does the record industry, I for one am happy that lost gems and forgotten classics are being unearthed and shared throughout the world. I’m a firm believer that music, like a lot of things in life, is cyclical… as in a new generation of say, dance music fans can get to understand the roots of electronica by going back and listening to the classic influence of disco, a genre once condemned. And it’s finding a resurgence as it was clearly breaking new musical ground way before its time.

“Too Young to Date” is a bit of a novelty song, but as I have been researching these obscure 80’s groups I am realizing that was really the scene at the time. These silly songs were more about the movement, and the meeting point where disco, punk rock, and image clashed. And while attitude and lines like “got an older guy and his name is Michael, he just told me about my menstrual cycle” are sort of “cute” now, they don’t overshadow a fun killer song. It’s funny, in a climate where we’re looking for “substance” in pop music, it’s funny to look back and see that maybe it’s not substance that we are missing, it’s the concept of truly trying to push things forward.

I need to come clean a little bit because my obscure 80’s week has been HEAVELY influenced by a particular compilation that I discovered in college. Compilation kings Rhino released the 14+ volume compilation “Just Can’t Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80’s” back in the mid-90’s. It’s a great mix of more well know 80’s tracks like Toni Basil’s “Mickey” with less well know stuff like I’ve highlighted this week. I HIGHLY recommend this collection to any 80’s fan that likes the hits but wants to go a little deeper. You can check out the first volume here on Amazon.

Thank you all again for your suggestions, and look for them in a week or two.